The U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) wrapped up its two-day meeting on Wednesday, issuing a policy statement that said the Fed will leave the federal funds rate unchanged.

Gold prices have climbed sharply in 2026, rising 92% over the last 12 months and trading at $5,279 per ounce as of Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. EST, just as Tether signals a deeper move into physical bullion.

As an Arctic storm front batters multiple U.S. states, bitcoin mining activity across the country has pulled back sharply, with American-based operators scaling down operations to ease pressure on the power grid during a difficult stretch. As a result, Bitcoin’s network hashrate has declined notably, with current data placing total hashpower between 800 and 875 exahash per second (EH/s) over the past day.

XRP gains fresh legal certainty as a federal appeals court ruling narrows investor claims, reinforcing confidence in early token distributions and strengthening Ripple’s long-running regulatory outlook amid renewed market optimism.

Bitcoin has rebounded above $88,000, but options markets and a crowded U.S. macro calendar suggest downside risks remain elevated as traders hedge against policy and fiscal uncertainty.

Over the last hour, the digital heavyweight stands at $89,884 to $90,136 per coin with a market cap of $1.79 trillion. In the past 24 hours, its trading volume soared to $47.40 billion, squeezing between an intraday low of $87,315 and a high of $89,963. Despite some faltering momentum, the charts suggest bitcoin is playing the long game—calculated, poised, and just a bit coy with the next move.

Crypto ETF flows turned mixed once again as bitcoin and ether slipped back into outflows, while XRP and solana quietly extended their winning streaks. The session reflected cautious positioning rather than broad capitulation.

Rootstock Labs and Animoca Brands Japan announce a partnership to develop Bitcoin‑native treasury and BTCFi use cases for Japanese institutions.

OKX introduces OKX Pay and OKX Card in the EU as a compliant gateway for onchain payments and DeFi access.

A Paypal and National Cryptocurrency Association survey finds 39% of U.S. merchants accept crypto and 84% expect common use within five years.

Orbs has partnered with Gryps to integrate Perpetual Hub Ultra on the Sei Network, delivering a professional‑grade perpetual futures stack powered by Layer 3 technology and Symmio smart contracts.

Steak ‘n Shake increases its bitcoin exposure by $5 million, raising the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to $15 million.

New research shows stablecoin issuers, led by Tether, generated the majority of crypto protocol revenue in 2025, highlighting a shift away from trading-driven income toward payment and settlement infrastructure.

A new ethereum staking report shows 2025 delivered major technical upgrades and

XRP is cementing its role in live institutional payment infrastructure as Ripple’s RLUSD anchors regulated stablecoin settlement, signaling blockchain rails are now trusted, production-grade systems for global liquidity, cross-border payments, and high-value financial flows.